Janine’s light was off—she was probably already asleep, after Skyping with her family and writing three poems and saying her prayers. Marianne wondered if she’d prayed for her—what would she have prayed for? It was not a thing you could ask someone, the way you hinted around at Christmas or birthday presents. But she could guess at what it would be: for Marianne to find peace, comfort, solace. For her school to thrive. She was probably not praying for anything as mundane and insubstantial as Marianne’s love life.

11

“Ghostwriter?” Marianne coughed at breakfast, after Eric told her about his new assignment. He motioned for her to lower her voice, though the dining hall was full and lively. She’d slept badly and was on her second cup of watery Ranch coffee, which left her both jittery and distant. She spotted Janine with two other women at her favorite spot by the big, gulf-facing window, and waved, then turned back to Eric and hissed, “How is that even ethical? Or possible?”

“I was skeptical too,” he said, calmly spearing the pale cantaloupe and watery melon left on his plate. “I was resistant. But Regina pointed out, for someone like me, this is really a no-brainer.”

“A no-brainer meaning an obvious decision?” she asked. “Or like an idea to which you have devoted very little brain power?”

“Look, Davonte is obviously a big star,” Eric explained. “His work is going to sell, he just has a problem with getting the words on the page. If I sign on to help, I can get a substantial cut, Davonte’s work actually gets finished in a quality way, and the school gets some major attention, too. It’s win-win-win.” He ticked the wins across his fingers.

“But you’re his teacher. You’re supposed to be teaching him how to write. How is that going to look, with your name on the cover?”

Eric hushed her again, though Davonte was nowhere to be seen. He usually skipped breakfast so he could go running: in that sense, at least, he had some discipline. “My name won’t be on the cover. I’ll be thanked, the Ranch will be thanked, you’ll be thanked—”

“Thank you Marianne, for microwaving my Lean Cuisines….”

“It’s good business, Marianne. It makes sense. I talked to Mark, and he thinks so, too. After the meeting last night, Davonte took a cab home and I stuck around with Regina. She ran all these numbers, and she determined that he had the best shot, of any of our students, to make it big.”